Implementing Mail Merge with RichTextEditor in Blazor

6 mins read

Mail merge is a powerful feature that allows you to create a batch of personalized documents that share common content but contain unique elements such as names, addresses, or other specific data. In Blazor applications, you can implement mail merge functionality using the RichTextEditor component along with custom toolbar items and Mention Integration.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Syncfusion Blazor components installed in your project.
A basic understanding of Blazor and Razor syntax.

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Set Up the RichTextEditor Component

First, add the RichTextEditor component to your Razor page and bind the Value to a property in your code-behind.

<SfRichTextEditor ID="mailMerge" @ref="rteObj" @bind-Value="TextEditorValue">
    <!-- Toolbar settings and custom items will be added here -->
</SfRichTextEditor>

2. Configure the Toolbar

Define the toolbar settings and custom toolbar items for inserting merge fields and finishing the merge process.

<RichTextEditorToolbarSettings Items="@Tools" Type="ToolbarType.MultiRow">
    <RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItems>
        <!-- Custom toolbar items for mail merge will be added here -->
    </RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItems>
</RichTextEditorToolbarSettings>

3. Add Custom Toolbar Items for Mail Merge

Create custom toolbar items that allow users to insert merge fields and finish the merge process.

 <RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItems>
            <RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItem Name="InsertMergeField">
                <Template>
                    <SfMenu TValue="MenuItem">
                        <MenuEvents TValue="MenuItem" ItemSelected="ItemSelected"></MenuEvents>
                        <MenuItems>
                            <MenuItem Text="Insert Merge Field">
                                <MenuItems>
                                    <MenuItem Text="invoice.company_details">
                                        <MenuItems>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.company_details.name"></MenuItem>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.company_details.address"></MenuItem>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.company_details.phone"></MenuItem>
                                        </MenuItems>
                                    </MenuItem>
                                    <MenuItem Text="invoice.customer_details">
                                        <MenuItems>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.customer_details.name"></MenuItem>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.customer_details.address"></MenuItem>
                                            <MenuItem Text="invoice.customer_details.email"></MenuItem>
                                        </MenuItems>
                                    </MenuItem>
                                    <MenuItem Text="invoice.invoice_number"></MenuItem>
                                </MenuItems>
                            </MenuItem>
                        </MenuItems>
                    </SfMenu>

                </Template>
            </RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItem>
            <RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItem Name="FinishMerge">
                <Template>
                    <button class="e-btn e-tbar-btn" @onclick="ClickHandler">
                        <span style="font-size:14px">Finish & Merge</span>
                    </button>
                </Template>
            </RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItem>
        </RichTextEditorCustomToolbarItems>

4. Implement the Mention Integration

Use the Mention component to provide suggestions for merge fields as the user types.

<SfMention TItem="PersonData" MentionChar="@mentionChar" Target="#mailMerge_rte-editable" DataSource="@EmailData" SuggestionCount=8 AllowSpaces="true" PopupHeight="200px" PopupWidth="250px">
    <!-- Display template and field settings will be added here -->
</SfMention>

5. Handle the Merge Logic

In your code-behind, implement the logic to handle the insertion of merge fields and the completion of the merge process.

@code {
    public void ClickHandler()
    {
        Invoice ? invoice = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Invoice>(File.ReadAllText(".\\Data\\InvoiceData.json"));
        string invoiceHTML = TextEditorValue;
        Template template = Template.Parse(invoiceHTML);
        var templateData = new { invoice };
        //Fill template with real invoice data
        TextEditorValue = template.Render(templateData);
    }

    public async Task ItemSelected(MenuEventArgs<MenuItem> args)
    {
        if (args.Item.Items == null)
        {
            await this.rteObj.ExecuteCommandAsync(CommandName.InsertHTML, "<span  contenteditable='false' class='e-mention-chip'>{{" + args.Item.Text + "}}</span>", new ExecuteCommandOption() { Undo = true });
        }
    }
}

Additional References

For more detailed information and advanced configurations, refer to the following resources:

By following these steps, you can successfully implement mail merge functionality in your Blazor applications using the RichTextEditor component.

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